Do something that will make you happy
by tv-crazy
Summary: Cordano - Elizabeth tries to help Robert through a hard time but ends up getting more than she bargained for
1. Brave Move

This is just a short fic to write down an idea I had while I was trying to get over the writers block for my other fics. Hope you like it. I may revisit and write more some time if you like it.  
  
Fixed the weird stuff at the end of the last upload – I don't know where that came from. It's not in the word doco I uploaded.  
  
It's set in season 10, pre Freefall. It takes place just after one of those scenes where Robert has hurled insults at everyone in the ER.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Elizabeth watched Romano storm off and looked tentatively at the people around her.  
  
Gallant was taking it in his stride, Susan Lewis just rolled her eyes and got back to work, Haleh was sending daggering looks towards the lounge where Robert had disappeared and Abby looked ready to kill him if he dared to come out of there again.  
  
Elizabeth followed Robert in to the lounge, knowing they wouldn't be disturbed – no-one would want to be near Robert in this mood. No-one except her, that is.  
  
He didn't look around when she entered, just stood at the coffee machine brooding.  
  
She sighed. Things had been bad last year when he was first assigned down here, but since he had come back from medical leave, he had been unbearable. Elizabeth didn't know why she cared so much, but it was so hard for her to see her friend hurting like this, and taking it out on the people around him. She was surprised to find she thought of Robert as a friend after everything they'd been through.  
  
The last year or so hadn't been easy for either of them. She had lost her husband; he had lost his arm and his career. While these two things were hardly comparable, she knew Robert didn't have anyone – his work as a surgeon had been his whole life, so the loss was as hard on him as hers had been on her.  
  
Robert had turned to her for comfort last year and she hadn't been able to be there for him. It was too soon after Mark, and she had panicked that night when Robert had reached out to touch her. She had shown her concern the only way she could at the time – by being his doctor and looking after him when he was injured.  
  
But now they seemed to have reached some sort of mutual understanding. They had been there for each other over the years, and had somehow become friends.  
  
Robert, realising whoever had followed him in to the lounge wasn't going anywhere, turned around. Of course, he already knew it was Elizabeth. No- one down here would want to talk to him. She was staring at him, which unnerved him slightly. He tried to read her expression, but he didn't recognise the look in her eyes.  
  
"Robert" she said softly. "Why are you doing this? You're only making yourself and others around you miserable."  
  
She waited for him to speak, but when he didn't, she continued. "Why don't you start looking at other options? You're not happy here in the ER."  
  
"What do you suggest I do, Lizzie? Start a campaign on the dangers of making tea when you have no feeling in one of your arms?" he spat sarcastically.  
  
"You could teach. You're an amazing teacher, Robert. I wouldn't be where I am today if it wasn't for you."  
  
"You mean you wouldn't be Chief of Surgery if I hadn't vacated the job?"  
  
"You know that's not what I meant". She said softly, dropping her eyes which immediately made him feel guilty. He didn't have a problem lashing out at everyone else because he knew that they all thought he deserved what had happened to him. But Lizzie was different. She had been supportive of him through all this, despite everything he had thrown at her over the years. She was there for him when he had needed someone – the only friend he had around here.  
  
"How can I teach when I can't show how it's done?" he asked, softer this time.  
  
"You can supervise or you can run research programs. There has to be something that would make you happier than this, Robert. You're an amazing doctor - you have so much knowledge and experience to impart. Why don't you stop putting all your energy in to lashing out at others and apply it to something you want to do? Think of something that would make you happy and do it." She was pleading with him now, searching out his eyes again, trying desperately to get through to him.  
  
Robert considered her words. He threw the remains of his coffee in the sink, and without a word walked past Elizabeth towards the door. For a moment, she thought he was going to walk out without even acknowledging her.  
  
Suddenly, he turned to face her, and before she knew what was happening, he reached up and kissed her on the lips. Hard. She barely had time to register the softness of his lips on hers, contrasting with the roughness of his beard against her face before he pulled away.  
  
He looked in her eyes for a moment, trying to gauge her reaction. He recognised the look this time. It was the same way she'd looked at him after he had hugged her outside the lifts all those years ago before her M & M conference.  
  
He stepped away, grinning at her – the first time she had seen that cocky look on his face in a long time. "You were right, Lizzie - I do feel better" he said, winking at her before breezing out of the room. 


	2. Distraction

Hello again! After a long delay, I got inspired to write again, so here goes. If you're still reading – thanks for waiting for so long! I hope to update my other stories soon too. Thanks to all the other Cordano writers who are still out there writing too. I love all of your stories. You may want to read the first chapter again, just to remember what this story is all about. I know I had to!!

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Elizabeth stood in the lounge staring at the door after Robert had walked through it. She touched her hand to her mouth, wondering how she should be feeling about this.  
  
On the one hand, she was pleased to have seen her friend in a better mood – it was nice to see him regain some of his previous temperament. But on the other hand, she was angry with him for putting her in this awkward position. They were friends despite everything that had happened, despite the many times he had asked her out, despite how he had reached out to her last year, despite him telling her he loved her as he came out of his anaesthesia.  
  
Yes, she had feelings for Robert – she cared about him a great deal, but she had always stepped back when he had tried to cross the line to something more than just friends.  
  
Now she was standing here, rather confused by what she was feeling. Much as she wanted to ignore it, she had felt a certain spark when his lips had touched hers – something that made her want to try it again. She blushed at the thought. I suppose it made sense really. She hadn't been with anyone since Mark died, so it was natural for her to feel "needs" after this long. The fact that it was for Robert Romano was just a disturbing coincidence, wasn't it?  
  
Suddenly, the door to the lounge burst open, startling her out of her reverie.  
  
"Dr Corday, lucky you're still here." She heard Sam's voice. "We've got an MVA 1 minute out and we're going to need you."  
  
Elizabeth was glad of the distraction and found herself quickly absorbed with the two victims. She ended up taking one of them up to surgery for what turned in to a 5 hour operation. Luckily, Chris had been able to stay longer with Ella and had agreed to bring the toddler to the hospital on her way out.  
  
When she got out of surgery, Elizabeth realised she only had a few minutes before Chris was going to get there. She ran downstairs to meet her nanny, grateful she had someone who was so reliable, and willing to delay her plans at the last minute.  
  
Elizabeth wearily took her daughter – and then found as usual that this cheered her up immediately. Ella was always happy to see her mum, even when it was late and close to her bedtime. Elizabeth was glad to spend time with her daughter, and loved when she got to put her to bed. It was way too often that Ella was already asleep when she got home.  
  
She carried Ella back upstairs to gather her things and leave for the day. As she walked back towards the lift, she heard a voice calling her. She found herself face to face with Robert Romano which caught her off guard. She hadn't had any time to process their earlier encounter, and she didn't know what he was now expecting of her. Truth be told, she wasn't sure what she was expecting of him. She couldn't help the colour rising to her cheeks again.  
  
"Elizabeth - glad I caught you" he said, surprising her with the use of her full name, but then his next statement confused her even more "I – uh – wanted to thank you for earlier".   
  
"Thank me?" she questioned as he momentarily busied himself with winking at Ella, making her giggle.  
  
"Yeah, well, thank you, and apologise." He said – not the normal Romano she was used to dealing with.  
  
"You were right earlier." He admitted simply, looking anywhere but in her eyes. "I was waiting for someone to come and fix things, but you helped me to realise I'm the only one who can make things better. I need to accept what's happened, and get on with my life and change things myself".  
  
Elizabeth was taken aback. She didn't think she had ever heard Robert admit he was wrong before. Well, he hadn't exactly admitted he was wrong, but he had admitted she was right, and that was close to the same thing. Before she could consider this any further, she realised he was speaking again.  
  
"And I'm sorry for – uh – when I - um – kissed you earlier" he said, clearly very uncomfortable with the whole thing. "It was inappropriate. You were trying to help me and I took advantage - it won't happen again".  
  
She wondered if he remembered how he had given her a similar assurance in the past.  
  
"I'm just glad to see you looking happier" she managed to say; terrified he was expecting her to say more, but luckily, he kept talking.  
  
"I'm going to take your advice and think about where to go from here. I don't know why it didn't occur to me earlier that there is something out there just begging for my talents." He spoke with a cockiness that would have irritated her in the past, but now just seemed familiar.  
  
Ella chose that moment to start to fret in her arms, so Elizabeth said goodbye to Robert, and took her daughter home.  
  
As she sat on the El, Elizabeth thought about her day. She found her thoughts returning to the way Robert had kissed her. It was hardly a passionate kiss – in fact, it wasn't much more than a peck. He clearly regretted it and had told her as much, but there was something about that kiss that she couldn't forget.  
  
She sighed as she let herself in home, juggling Ella in her arms. How on earth did Robert get so under her skin in just one day? I didn't make any sense. She had never had these sorts of feelings for him before so why on earth was she suddenly thinking like this? She shook her head, and busied herself with getting Ella ready for bed.  
  
The familiar task did nothing for her distraction and left her still thinking of that kiss. After Ella was finally tucked in to bed, Elizabeth sat down with a glass of wine, idly flicking through the TV channels, unable to focus on anything. She found her attention drawn to the phone. She could call him. She tried to come up with some plausible excuse for why she needed to talk to him. It wasn't completely unusual for her to talk to him at home – they had spoken in the past to discuss a patient, or a shift change. She picked up the phone and dialled the number, but then dropped it quickly before it started to ring.  
  
A few minutes later, she dialled again. This time she waited until she heard the familiar tone of his voice "Robert Romano..."

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Thanks for reading. I hope to update sooner next time! Please drop me a review to let me know what you think.


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